Budget expectations of agritech players; What are serum candles?

Hello,

Who will build the world’s biggest data centre?

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group, according to a report in Bloomberg, is setting up a data centre in Jamnagar that could potentially even dwarf the current leader–Microsoft’s 600-megawatt site in Virginia. The project’s estimated cost is between $20 billion and $30 billion. 

Meanwhile, Meta Platforms has its own mega plans, with the company planning to spend between $60 billion and $65 billion this year to build out AI infrastructure, Reuters reports. As part of the investment, the company will set up a more than 2-gigawatt data centre in Louisiana, per earlier media reports.

Investment firm Blackstone has also forayed into India’s data centre ecosystem, with plans of a 150 MW data centre facility in Hyderabad at Rs 4,500 crore.

Reliance, Meta and Blackstone aren’t the only companies racing to establish their AI prowess. Earlier this month, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella unveiled the company’s plans to invest $3 billion in the segment.

Elsewhere, AI search engine firm Perplexity AI has become the latest entrant in the AI assistant race which currently has players like OpenAI's ChatGPT and incumbent assistants such as Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. 

Perplexity says its app for Android users uses reasoning, search, and apps to assist with daily tasks.

Users can, for example, use the assistant to book an Uber, play YouTube videos or even translate Shakespeare–all through voice commands or even a gesture.

OpenAI, meanwhile, has taken the first steps to launch an AI agent that can jump in and help users with on-screen tasks.

It’s the AI agents’ world, and we are just living in it. 

In today’s newsletter, we will talk about 

• Key asks of agritech players
• What are body serum candles?
• Making mining and logistics task easy

Here’s your trivia for today: What is the name of the point of no return around the edge of a black hole?

Union Budget

Key asks of agritech players

As India strives to ensure food security for its growing population while facing the challenges posed by climate change, key interventions in the Budget could pave the way for a more sustainable future. 

Experts and leaders from the agriculture sector are urging targeted investments to address these issues. They are also calling for improvements in rural infrastructure to reduce post-harvest losses, improve credit accessibility, and foster innovation through agritech solutions. 

Takeaways:

• Dhanashree Mandhani, Founder and CEO of agritech startup Salam Kisan, says, “Strategic investments in storage facilities, cold chains, and logisticscan significantly reduce post-harvest losses and strengthen market linkages.”
• “Improved internet access and digital literacy will enable farmers to leverage real-time data on soil health, weather, and market trends, empowering them to make better decisions,” says Sat Kumar Tomer of Satyukt Analytics. 
• Recent PLI schemes in sectors such as electronics have demonstrated significant success, contributing to over Rs 8 lakh crore in additional production. Extending this approach to agritech could yield similar results.

<Top Funding Deals of the Week>

Startup: Infra.Market

Amount: Rs 1,050 Cr

Round: Pre-IPO

Startup: Namdev Finvest

Amount: $38M

Round: Debt

Startup: Arya.ag

Amount: $30M

Round: Debt

Startup

What are body serum candles?

For Priyanshi Jogani, the hunt for a perfect birthday gift for her friend led to something unexpected—an idea for a luxury startup. It all started when while browsing Instagram for ideas, she came across an ad for a body serum candle from an international brand. 

However, she found that the product wasn’t available in India. This sparked her curiosity, leading her to delve deeper into the art of slow care. This was the beginning of Bengaluru-based Mevyl Luxury.

New ideas:

• The serum candles are made based on the concept of traditional warm oil treatments, explains Jogani. “Whenever you use oils, they're supposed to be warm. But you can't keep heating them every time. I put it in the form of a candle,” she says.
• The idea, according to the founder, is for users to have an indulgent shower experience. Users can light the candle, and by the time they shower, the candle will have melted and is ready to be used.
• Operating with a three-member team, Mevyl makes the serums in small batches. It currently has two SKUs—Ruby and Morganit that are available for Rs 1,249 and Rs 1,299.

Startup

Making mining and logistics tasks easy

Asset and task monitoring can become tedious for industries like mining, logistics and transportation that rely on heavy machinery. Inefficient resource allocation, limited real-time visibility, and maintenance delays can impact their efficiency and profitability. 

Bengaluru-based Cognecto helps boost efficiency and streamline operations for these industries by leveraging the Internet of Things (IoT), real-time analytics, and sensor technology to offer companies tailored flexible SaaS solutions.

Helping hand:

• With its real-time asset tracking, Cognecto provides companies with detailed analytics for fleet management, helping them spot trends and make informed decisions. Its asset surveillance feature ensures security and visibility, and operators can allocate equipment via the same portal.
• It also has a mobile app and vision cameras that help ingest the data, followed by the company analysing the data with the help of its proprietary algorithms—IoT-based road quality monitoring and analysis system and Method for Payload Measurement of Trucks.
• Since its product launch in December 2022, the startup has been catering to 17 clients, including Vedanta, Hindalco, Aditya Birla Group, Tyson Group, Fura Gems, and Aluminium of Greece.

News & updates

• Crypto: Crypto markets steadied on Friday, still holding below recent highs even after US President Donald Trump ordered the creation of a new working group, tasked with proposing new crypto rules and exploring the possibility of a US cryptocurrency stockpile. Bitcoin traded around $105,000 on Friday.
• Rates: US Federal Reserve policymakers meeting next week are expected to keep interest rates on hold but the larger story unfolding will be how the central bank confronts early moves by President Donald Trump that are likely to shape the economy this year, including demands the Fed continue lowering borrowing costs.
• Breach: The Federation of Indian Publishers and their international counterparts have filed a copyright lawsuit against OpenAI in New Delhi, the latest in a series of global cases seeking to stop the ChatGPT chatbot accessing proprietary content.

What is the name of the point of no return around the edge of a black hole?

Answer: The Event Horizon.

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